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Shumpert Impressing His Peers & Onlookers

IMPACT ON IMPACT LEAGUE

Iman Shumpert, G/F, New York: There were a handful of rookies here, but Shumpert was hands-down the best of the bunch. His athleticism was impressive, but he showed the ability to knock down jumpers as well which would make him an extremely tough cover in the coming years. He had 25 points and six rebounds.

It's unbelievable how they wait until this late in the summer to begin talking seriously. Why not try to get a deal done last offseason and if nothing happened then at least you already had discussions and know where to begin this go round. Losing a season would be bad for everyone except the fvucking Cavs, Raptors, Bucks, Jazz and Kings.

I just hate how the pressure is on now when the timeframe is at its lowest point. I get the negotiating tactics but why not try to avoid all this mess??? Now you have guys talking about we need to get a deal done by x day or else we start losing games. WTF? Why wait for this sh!t to happen???

Maybe I'm being unrealistic but I know plenty of people feel this way.

theknicksblog.com has a nice clip of shumpert and derozen and i have to tell you guys this, shumpert looks good, he as everything you can ask for offensively- great physical build, nice crossover step back jumper, pretty shot, has range, aggressive and attacks the hoop

defensively from what i saw, he plays good defense but in the clip he expected help defense and no one helped him out so i think he's going to be a solid all around player

the only thing we have to see is if his phyche changes when he hits the bbig stage but looks nasty IMO

Imagine how if he is a good player for us it would change our team moving forward?!

I don't want/expect a superstar just a player on a level of like Lamar Odom,Boozer, Kevin Martin or Stephen Jackson

A solid player who opposing teams have to respect because he will impact the game

I said it before, but you gotta respect what he said about impacting the game without scoring and how he understands his mistakes in college was him trying to do too much and that with Stat, Chauncy and Melo that is not going to be an issue since he can just play within himself and let the game come to him

Pretty mature and intelligent for a player who the scouts said had a low Basketball IQ

Factor in this kid's work ethic and natural ability and you can't help be optimistic....even if it cautiously optimistic!

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 4:30 pmChaunceyís in Charge
Lockout or not, Billups wants to make Iman Shumpert a star. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

The Impact Basketball League added some notable star power to kick off their second week of action when New York Knicks pg Chauncey Billups came through for his first run in the series on Monday. The five-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA Selection and former NBA champion teamed up for the first time with Knicks first-round draft pick Iman Shumpert in the dayís second game, and said afterwards that he likes what heís seen from the No. 17 overall pick out of Georgia Tech.

ďWe didnít get a win but it was a fun game,Ē Billups told SLAMonline afterwards. ďWe had a good time, but Iím just looking forward to playing more with my new teammate Shumpert. Heís very athletic, and Iím just trying to learn his game right now. Iíll only have to play with him a few times and I will see how to best use him. Iím gonna try to make him a star, man.Ē

Shumpert, who paid his own way to Las Vegas to compete in the full slate of these Impact games, has done very well for himself thus far. He is bigger and quicker than most people think up close and in person, and Knicks fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about this kid.

Since last Monday, heís averaging 18.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, but itís also been his freakishly athletic abilities on the defensive end of the floor that have really made him stand out. Which is one aspect of Shumpertís game, specifically, that Chauncey believes will allow him to come in immediately and fill a need for the Knicks next season.

ďA lot of young guys want to come in and be effective by scoring,Ē Billups said. ďThey want to show they have all the nice moves, which is good, you gotta have that in your skill-set, but if youíre talking about playing winning basketball itís a little different. Some things are more important than others, and Shumpertís going to be a good one because heís able to defend. Thatís probably what weíll need him to do more than anything this year with all the scoring power we have on the team, is come in and stop some guys, and also get some buckets for us when we need it too.Ē

As far as the opportunity to learn how to play winning NBA basketball from the guy they call Mr. Big Shot for a reason, Shumpert noted that heís looking forward to that, and was excited to get out and play alongside Billups for the first time on Monday.

ďIt was good to get out here and play with Chauncey,Ē Shumpert said after the game. ďOf course weíre gonna need some more games together, we donít really know each other well at this point, but today was great, and itís just our first time playing together so it will only get better as more games come. Ē
Shumpert added that he came out to Impact to improve his game by getting some run in against NBA competition, and was all business when asked about how that was going for him so far.

ďItís going good, and I feel like Iím playing well. It is different for me because Iím used to being ball dominant, and right now Iím working on playing off the ball more here, but Iím getting used to it. Iím trying to learn how to pick my spots, and get to the right spots on the floor, and itís been a good adjustment so far.Ē

When asked if off the ball was where he saw himself playing in the League next season, he said he didnít know that for sure. At the moment, the combo guard is trying to develop that aspect of his game too just in case that ends up being a role he can help Chauncey and the Knicks in next season.
ďI donít know if theyíll need me to play off the ball next season or not at this point, but Iím just trying to get used to doing that now so that just in case I am Iíll be ready for it.Ē

Which seems to be the thought process necessary for developing the mentality to play the winning NBA basketball referred to by Billups earlier; something Chauncey also plans to assist the young rookie with moving forward. Just like guys did for him when he was coming from the same spot Shumpertís in now, as Chauncey went on to recall on Monday.

ďThere were a few guys who helped me develop the right mentality to play in this League when I first came in. Guys like Jason Kidd and Tim Hardaway did a lot for me,Ē Billups added. ďI used to talk with those guys about the attitude and the mentality you needed in this game, Sam Cassell was great for me also, but the player whoís done the most for me over my career was the Terrell Brandon. I had the pleasure of playing with him for two years in Minneapolis and he made the biggest difference for me of any player in my career. I do plan to pass those things along to Shumpert as well the more we get to know each other.Ē

Iman certainly appears receptive to the tutorial forthcoming from Billups too. Heís put himself in a position to start learning from one of the greats as early as possible, and has excelled on the court all summer long in the process. Thereís good reason to believe that Chauncey very well could help make this kid into a star when itís all said and done, too, especially since thatís his intention.